South Summit football falls to Morgan

Fourth-quarter comeback dooms Wildcats

Adam Spencer, The Park Record

Posted:
09/02/2014 04:57:30 PM MDT

South Summit receiver Bracken Santos makes a diving catch during last week s game against Park City in Kamas. Santos scored South Summit s first touchdown against Morgan on Friday night. (Christopher Reeves/Park Record)

Last year, the South Summit High School football team, ranked No. 1 in 2A, defeated Morgan, the No. 1 3A team, in Kamas 13-12.

This year, playing in Morgan on Friday night, the Wildcats held a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter, and appeared to be on their way to another upset.

But a couple big plays from the Trojans doused South Summit's hopes and the game ended with Morgan on top 28-21.

South Summit coach Jerry Parker wasn't happy with the way the final few minutes went for his team.

"We were up seven and we kicked off to them," he said. "On their first or second play, their running back broke a tackle and went about 90 yards for a touchdown. Then we blocked the extra point, so we were still up one.

"We fumbled and they got the ball on their 40. They ran a play just like the last one and we missed a couple tackles again. Then they threw a pass over the middle, we didn't cover [the receiver] and they scored and made a two-point conversion. Then we threw a pick and that was the game."

South Summit (1-1) scored early on a nine-yard run by Bracken Santos. In the second quarter, Isaac Tillett scored from 14 yards out. In the fourth quarter, quarterback Ty Jones found the end zone on a 20-yard run. Kicker Harley Georgi was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points.

Parker said the mistakes the Wildcats made on Friday, including the two late turnovers, were out of character for a team that normally displays solid fundamentals.

Our intensity just wasn't what it needed to be to take care of them. Morgan's a good team."

He added that he hopes Friday's loss serves as a wake-up call for the defending 2A state champions. The road to a repeat won't be easy, he said.

"We need more urgency," he said. "We're not hungry enough. We're just going through the motions and we need to find a way to fix that. [Morgan] played really hard and came at us and we couldn't handle it with enough consistency."

The offensive line needs to figure out how to play with one another and communicate better, Parker said.

"Our line is young," he said. 'They're having growing pains. It's just a matter of us getting the right chemistry in there. It's very important that they're cohesive and I don't think they are right now."

Heading into Friday night's game against American Leadership Academy (0-2), South Summit's focus in practice will be simple.

"We need to figure out how to block and tackle better," Parker said. "We're not doing either very well right now."

Against a rebuilding ALA team, the Wildcats' coaching staff will be looking for passion from the players on the field.

"Urgency and teamwork is what I'm looking for," Parker said. "We need to see if we can get some of that excitement back."